Egg-carton.



- D. TUFTS.

EGG CARTON.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17. I915.

Patented Oct. 17, 1916.

DAVID TUFTS, 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

nocaoim'rou.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1916.

Application filed February 17, 1915. Serial No. 8,884.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID TUFTS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Egg-Cartons; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to egg cartons particularly adapted for transportation of eggs by parcel post, expressage, etc.

The object of my invention is to provide a strong, durable carton in which the egg will be held securely in position against movement in course of transportation, the idea. being to support the egg at the ends in such a way that the egg is held by end pressure while the sides are free from contact with the sides of the carton on the principle that it is well-known that an egg will resist compressive action applied endwise whereas a slight compression or force applied on the sides will break the shell.

To these ends, my invention comprises the novel features hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawing, Figure 1' is a side elevation of my improved carton with a portion of the side wall removed, and the other half in section; Fig. 2 is a plan View with the lid removed; Fig. 3 shows a portion of the main carton. with the individual cartons therein, the sections of the main carton being about to be brought into conjunction with each other; Figs. 4:, 5 and 6 show modified forms of my invention.

The numeral 2 designates one-half ofa telescoping box or carton; the other section being designated by the numeral 3. This box is made of pasteboard or pulp fiber or other suitable material, which will give the necessary rigidity and durability to withstand the wear to which such boxes would be subjected in transportation.

The sections 2 and 3 are provided with the individual carton sections 4 and 5, the sections being secured to the inner wall 6 of the boX member 3 and the sections 5 'attached to the inner face 7 of the box member 2. The sections 4; and 5' are arranged to register with each other when the box members 2 and 3 are 'in engagement as shown in Fig. 1, so that the edges 8 abut as 7 shown in Fig. 1. In this manner, the box is made very rigid and is protected against collapsing, being supported in this Way throughout its entire area at a number of different points. These sections 4 and 5 form individual cartons with ,cylindrical pockets for the eggs, and each section is provided with a ring of felt or other suitable cushioning material. The egg 10 when inserted within the individual carton is cushioned at the top and bottom by the ring 9 and enough end pressure is applied to hold the egg securely against movement. By having the halves of the carton abut in the manner described, liability of undue pressure on the egg is avoided, and the ends of the eggs enter the holes in the ring cushions and are held upright, and with the ends abutting no pressure is brought upon the eggs. The diameter of the carton is such as to leave a space 11 between the egg and the side walls of the carton so that there is no liability of any pressure being applied to the egg from the side to cause breakage.

The eggs are first arranged in the lower section 2 of the box, as indicated in Fig. 3, and the upper section is then lowered'so as to bring the edges 8'into abutment, as indifurthermore, the cushioning devices guard against undue pressure.

In Figs. 4 and 5, I have illustrated a modified form of my invention in which the individual cartons. are made of two hinged members 12 and 13 connected by a suitable hinge 14. In this case, these cartons would be arranged loosely in a boxv such as above described, and wouldbe' held from movement by being-packed snugly in position. Furthermore, a box might be made with several rows of the permanently attached individual cartons, while one row might consist of the removable cartons like that shown in Figs. 4 and 5 so that in case it Wasdesired to ship butter, for instance, in addition to the eggs, there would be room for several pou ds of the same.

In Fig. 6, I have illustrated my invention as applied to a case Where there are a number of removable-trays or members 15 with registering cartons. In this Way, a deep box 16 may be filled up by arranging these removable trays one above the other.

It is, of course, apparent that the material of which the different parts is made may be changed to suit conditions, and the size of the box may be increased or decreased as desired.

lVhat I claim is:

1. A carton for eggs comprising two sections with straight directly-abutting edges forming a cylindrical pocket, and rings of cushioning material in the outer end of each section, said rings having openings sufliciently large to admit of a portion of the ends of the egg.

2. A carton for eggs comprising two telescoping bOX members, individual carton sections secured to the inner Walls of said telescoping members, said sections registering with each other and having directly abutting edges forming a cylindrical pocket when the telescoping members are in engagement, and cushioning means in each section engaging the ends of the egg.

A carton for eggs comprising members having individual carton sections secured thereto, said sections adapted to register with each other, and having directly abutting edges t'orming cylindrical pockets, and cushioning means in each section engaging the ends of the egg.

In testimony whereof, I, the said DAVID TUFTS, have hereunto set my hand.

DAVID TUF TS. Witnesses R0151. D. TOTTEN, JOHN F. WILL. 

